DVD Drive help

I have the same problems with the one in my laptop which after many attempts to repair I have put down to it just burning out. Although some types of blank cd's work and others don't. It only works now and again. Try a better type of blank media in it and see if you have any joy.

Where to find the AutoPlay settings

Click on the Start Menu button and type the word autoplay in the search box.



Click on the first result and the AutoPlay window will open.


Here, you can change the AutoPlay settings according to your needs and preferences.


As for the writing speed problem have you tried a different media, what are you using atm?

you could also try re-seating the drive, they are usually held in by one screw on the bottom of the laptop.
power off the laptop and take out the battery

take out the screw and just next to the hole there should be a small slot that you can use to give the drive a small push, pull out the dvd drive and put back into place nice and firmly and replace the screw.

Also check for any issues that may be showing up in device manager and check for any firmware updates from the manufacturer of the laptops website.

If all else fails as mooley says it may be starting to fail. replace with an external drive as these are more robust i believe then internal drives for laptops some may be cheaper too

Internal laptop drives have a bigger tendency to fail than desktops, as they are more finicky. I had a laptop dvd/rw drive fail and had it replaced. It wasn't able to burn as fast as the original, or respond as quickly.

External dvd drives tend to be more sturdy....I have one that is usb powered and works great. I've had mine for about 2 years now.

I agree 100% with rtm on this. Laptop drives are just not as hardy. They are built in a manner to keep weight down and fit in a confined area. They are subject to more movement and impact and are just more prone to failure. It is always best if you are going to be using your laptop for much burning, to invest in an external drive.

Originally Posted by capnfran

Hey guys,

The DVD drive in my laptop has stopped working properly. It doesn't auto play, it takes three or four tries before it recognises there is a disc in and it will only burn at slow speeds and sometimes the disc it's burned doesn't work.

it's a "Sony DVD RW DW-G520A" if that means anything to anyone. I've tried looking for new drivers online but I can't find anything.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to fix it?

capnfran here is the driver for your Sony.... linky

Scroll down the page and click the little "red arrow and drive" looking thingy.. that should get you the correct f/w.... make DAMN sure it is... cause if you flash it (if it lets you) and it's the WRONG one I take NO responsibility if it's fubars the drive.

IF you feel like replacing the "slim" dvd drive in your lappy then you'll have to look up that model for size and such for the replacement... NOW if you want to buy an external we'll help you there too.. hehehe... we love to spend other people's money!!!

hth.....

Let us know how this helped... thanks

THIS might also be worth looking at.

And of course, there's always eBay


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WEll done Gman... all the links and such you need on ONE response... doesn't get any better than that.